# Things to do in Baku: top sights and where to go

> Baku's walled Old City puts the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs five minutes apart, with the seaside Boulevard, the Carpet Museum and the Flame Towers on Highland Park just outside its gates. Spend the first day in the centre on foot plus a taxi to the Heydar Aliyev Center; keep the Ateshgah fire temple, the burning hillside of Yanar Dag and the rock art of Gobustan for a second day by car.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku

## Ready itineraries

- [One day in Baku: an itinerary in the best order](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/in-1-day.md): The Maiden Tower, the lanes of walled Icherisheher, the 15th-century Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the bay from the Flame Towers in Highland Park. On foot.
- [2 days in Baku: a day-by-day itinerary](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/in-2-days.md): Walled Icherisheher with the Maiden Tower and the Shirvanshahs' palace first, then the seaside boulevard, a rolled-carpet museum and Zaha Hadid's white wave.
- [3 days in Baku: a day-by-day itinerary](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/in-3-days.md): The walled Old City and Maiden Tower, the seafront with a rolled-carpet museum and Zaha Hadid's white wave, then the Ateshgah fire temple and a burning hill.

## All 10 places with the YesGo score

- [Maiden Tower](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-maiden-tower.md): YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · 19 AZN for foreign visitors. The Maiden Tower (Qız qalası) is a round stone tower about 28 m tall on the south-east edge of Baku’s Old City — the city’s emblem and…
- [Old City (Icherisheher)](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-old-town.md): YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · Free entry, museums from 10 ₼. Icherisheher, Baku's Old City, is a walled hilltop quarter above the Caspian where people still live. Walking in is free and possible at…
- [Palace of the Shirvanshahs](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/shirvanshahs-palace.md): YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · 24 AZN for foreign visitors. The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a 15th-century complex on the highest point of Icherisheher, Baku's walled Old City: the palace, the…
- [Flame Towers and Highland Park](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/flame-towers.md): YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; funicular 1 AZN. The Flame Towers are three glass skyscrapers above Baku Bay. You can't tour them — inside are the Fairmont hotel, flats and offices — so…
- [Baku Boulevard](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-boulevard.md): YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free. Baku Boulevard is the city’s seafront park on the Caspian, laid out in 1909, with the Carpet Museum, Little Venice and the Baku Eye. It is…
- [Heydar Aliyev Center](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/heydar-aliyev-center.md): YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 15 AZN; classic cars +10 AZN. Zaha Hadid’s white, wave-shaped cultural centre, set in its own park about 4 km from the Old City. Walking around the outside and the park…
- [Azerbaijan Carpet Museum](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-carpet-museum.md): YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 10 AZN for foreigners, students 3 AZN. The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum sits in a building shaped like a rolled-up carpet on Baku Boulevard, a 10–15-minute walk from the…
- [Yanar Dag](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag.md): YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 15 AZN foreigners, under-12s free. Yanar Dag, the “burning mountain”, is a strip of natural gas fire about 10 m wide that has been burning non-stop at the foot of a hillside…
- [Ateshgah Fire Temple](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/ateshgah-fire-temple.md): YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 15 AZN for foreign visitors. Ateshgah is a 17th–18th-century fire temple in Surakhani, about 30 km from central Baku: a five-sided walled courtyard of pilgrim cells…
- [Gobustan rock art and mud volcanoes](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/gobustan.md): YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ 10–15 AZN, volcanoes extra. Gobustan is a UNESCO-listed rock art reserve 60–70 km south-west of Baku: more than 6,000 Stone Age carvings on sandstone boulders above…

## Baku travel guide

Before you go: the old city and Flame Towers, the boulevard, Yanar Dag and Gobustan, the airport, weather by month.

## Trip essentials

- How many days: 3–4 days: the city, Gobustan, Absheron
- When to go: April–June and September–October
- Visa: Most visitors apply for an e-visa (ASAN) online
- Currency: Azerbaijani manat (AZN); cards widely accepted
- Airport: Heydar Aliyev (GYD) ≈ 25 km — express bus and taxi
- Wind: Baku is the City of Winds — bring a windproof layer
- Time zone: UTC+4 all year

## Key facts

- **2000** — the Walled City (Icherisheher) with the Shirvanshahs’ Palace and Maiden Tower joined the UNESCO list (source: UNESCO World Heritage List, No. 958)
- **2007** — the Gobustan rock art landscape joined the UNESCO list (source: UNESCO World Heritage List, No. 1076)
- **1909** — the seaside Boulevard along the Caspian was laid out (source: Wikipedia, “Baku Boulevard”)
- **≈ 190 m** — height of the Flame Towers — at night, flames of light run across them (source: Wikipedia, “Flame Towers”)
- **Caspian** — Baku lies on the shore of the world’s largest lake (source: Wikipedia, “Caspian Sea”)

## Things to do in Baku

Baku’s highlights are the Old City (Icherisheher) with the Maiden Tower and the Shirvanshahs’ Palace, the seaside Boulevard, the Flame Towers and Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Center. Outside the city are the burning hill of Yanar Dag, the Ateshgah fire temple and the Gobustan rock carvings. Every place with its YesGo score is in the list above; the “Map” button shows them on a map.

| Where | What to see | Time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Old City** | [Icherisheher](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-old-town), [Maiden Tower](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-maiden-tower), [Shirvanshahs](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/shirvanshahs-palace) | ½ day |
| **Seafront** | [Boulevard](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-boulevard), [Carpet Museum](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-carpet-museum) | ½ day |
| **Above the city** | [Flame Towers](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/flame-towers) | sunset |
| **Architecture** | [Heydar Aliyev Center](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/heydar-aliyev-center) | 1–2 h |
| **Absheron** | [Yanar Dag](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag), [Ateshgah](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/ateshgah-fire-temple) | ½ day |
| **South** | [Gobustan](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/gobustan) | ½ day |

Rather not plan it yourself? The list above has ready itineraries for 1–3 days, with places in a sensible order.

## Baku airport to the city centre

Heydar Aliyev Airport (GYD) is ≈ 25 km from the centre. An express bus runs to 28 May metro station, and taxis via an app take about 30 minutes.

| How | To | Time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Express bus** | 28 May metro | ≈ 40 min |
| **Ride-hailing app** | City centre | ≈ 30 min |
| **Transfer** | To your hotel | ≈ 30 min |

Buses and the metro need a BakuCard, sold by machines at the airport.

## Baku weather by month

The best time to visit Baku is April–June and September–October — warm and dry. Summer is hot, about 30 °C, and people swim in the Caspian on the Absheron beaches. Winter is mild, about 7 °C by day, but windy. Baku is windy in every season.

- **January in Baku**: day ≈ 7°C, night ≈ 2°C, sea ≈ 8°C, rainy days: 7. Cool and windy, about 7°. Museums and the Old City.
- **February in Baku**: day ≈ 7°C, night ≈ 2°C, sea ≈ 7°C, rainy days: 7. Windy, sometimes snow.
- **March in Baku**: day ≈ 10°C, night ≈ 4°C, sea ≈ 8°C, rainy days: 7. Spring; Novruz, the main holiday, late in the month.
- **April in Baku** (best time): day ≈ 16°C, night ≈ 9°C, sea ≈ 11°C, rainy days: 5. Warm, about 16°. Good for Gobustan.
- **May in Baku** (best time): day ≈ 22°C, night ≈ 14°C, sea ≈ 17°C, rainy days: 4. Warm and dry — one of the best months.
- **June in Baku**: day ≈ 27°C, night ≈ 19°C, sea ≈ 22°C, rainy days: 2. Hot, about 27°. Evenings on the Boulevard.
- **July in Baku**: day ≈ 30°C, night ≈ 22°C, sea ≈ 25°C, rainy days: 1. The hottest month. Absheron beaches.
- **August in Baku**: day ≈ 30°C, night ≈ 22°C, sea ≈ 26°C, rainy days: 2. Hot, the sea about 26°.
- **September in Baku** (best time): day ≈ 26°C, night ≈ 18°C, sea ≈ 23°C, rainy days: 3. Warm, about 26°. A great time for trips.
- **October in Baku** (best time): day ≈ 20°C, night ≈ 13°C, sea ≈ 18°C, rainy days: 6. About 20°, mild and sunny.
- **November in Baku**: day ≈ 14°C, night ≈ 8°C, sea ≈ 14°C, rainy days: 8. Cool and windy.
- **December in Baku**: day ≈ 10°C, night ≈ 4°C, sea ≈ 10°C, rainy days: 8. About 10°, a festive Boulevard.

The sea is the Caspian; people swim on the Absheron beaches in summer, not in the city. The khazri wind can blow in any season.

## What to eat in Baku

Azerbaijani food means plov, qutab, dolma, kebabs and tea with jam. Tea is drunk all day — in the Old City’s tea houses and on the Boulevard.

- **Plov** — with chestnuts and dried fruit; shah plov baked in lavash for celebrations.
- **Qutab** — thin flatbreads with herbs, meat or pumpkin.
- **Tea with jam** — in armudu glasses, with white-cherry jam.
- **Pakhlava** — Baku and Sheki versions taste quite different.

## Baku ticket prices

The Old City streets, the Boulevard and the Flame Towers from outside are free. You pay for the Maiden Tower, the Shirvanshahs’ Palace, the Heydar Aliyev Center, Gobustan, Yanar Dag and Ateshgah.

- [Maiden Tower](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-maiden-tower) — 19 AZN for foreign visitors
- [Old City (Icherisheher)](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-old-town) — Free entry, museums from 10 ₼
- [Palace of the Shirvanshahs](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/shirvanshahs-palace) — 24 AZN for foreign visitors
- [Flame Towers and Highland Park](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/flame-towers) — Free; funicular 1 AZN
- [Baku Boulevard](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-boulevard) — Free
- [Heydar Aliyev Center](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/heydar-aliyev-center) — 15 AZN; classic cars +10 AZN
- [Azerbaijan Carpet Museum](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-carpet-museum) — 10 AZN for foreigners, students 3 AZN
- [Yanar Dag](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag) — 15 AZN foreigners, under-12s free
- [Ateshgah Fire Temple](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/ateshgah-fire-temple) — 15 AZN for foreign visitors
- [Gobustan rock art and mud volcanoes](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/gobustan) — ≈ 10–15 AZN, volcanoes extra

## Tips

- See the Flame Towers at night from the Boulevard, or take the funicular up to Highland Park.
- Visit Yanar Dag at dusk — the flames burn all the time but glow brighter in the dark.
- Bring a windproof layer — Baku is windy even in summer.

## Questions

### Is Baku worth visiting?

Yes, for the contrast of a UNESCO-listed walled Old City with futuristic architecture like the Flame Towers and the Heydar Aliyev Center, plus fire temples and ancient rock art nearby.

### What to do in Baku in one day?

The Old City with the Maiden Tower and Shirvanshahs’ Palace, the seaside Boulevard and Highland Park for the Flame Towers at night.

### Do I need a visa for Azerbaijan?

Most visitors apply online for an ASAN e-visa before the trip; some nationalities are visa-free. Check the rule for your passport before you travel.

### What is the weather like in Baku in October?

About 20 °C by day and 13 °C at night, sunny but windy.

### How do I get from Baku airport to the city?

By express bus to 28 May metro station in about 40 minutes, or by ride-hailing app in about 30.

## Sources

- UNESCO World Heritage List, Nos. 958 and 1076
- Wikipedia, “Baku”; “Baku Boulevard”; “Flame Towers”; Baku climate (1991–2020 normals)
- Heydar Aliyev International Airport — official website
- ASAN Visa — official e-visa portal of Azerbaijan

Facts checked: 09.11.2026

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